Dream Theater enters US album charts at #6

http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/m2357900.aspx When's the last time a prog album was in the top 10?  Thirty years ago? It's undoubtedly their strongest and most consistent album since 1999's Scenes From A Memory.  They have finally returned to focusing on the SONG and not on the instrumental section in the middle of the song that actually has nothing to do with the song in the first place.  After the boredom and generally derivative nature that was most of Systematic Chaos, the holders of the prog torch are back at last.  This is the accessible album they haven't created since Images And Words, even though 4 of the songs are over 10 minutes long. Bravo for DT and progressive music as a whole.

Good to see music in the top ten!!!

Interesting. I just hope the label they're signed to won't make them "go commercial" upon this.

I'm happy for them, they've consistently produced good music for ages now. I saw them live a few weeks ago and they're even better in person.

If they want to be really famous they need to introduce some dance routines into their stage show, really crank it up a notch...

I'm really digging the fact that metal in general is becoming more popular in the US. Iron Maiden's most recent album entered the charts at #9 and Judas Priest's Nostradamus reached #11(their highest position yet). Furthermore, Children of Bodom's Bloodrunk, a DEATH METAL album("extreme power metal", if you will) for fuck's sake reached #22 last year, which is very good for a genre as awesome, abrasive and extreme as death metal. Opeth's last reached #28 as far as I remember. Dethklok's awesome debut is, however, the highest charting (Melodic) Death Metal album, at #21. Slightly off-topic, but is it just me or is Pantera really heavier than a lot of death metal bands?

I really love and respect Dream Theater. I've met, or rather, "sighted" John Petrucci a few months back at a concert. Felt really awesome. :D

#6 on the U.S. Billboard charts
#1 in Finland
#3 in German
#3 in Holland
#7 in Canada
#7 in Norway
#5 in Italy (just behind 4 italian artists)
#2 in Hungary
#2 in Japan
#3 in Sweden
#7 in Mexico
#9 in France

and ...

#1 on European album charts (according to Billboard)

Great chart debuts. What about the UK? Anyway, these guys totally deserve it.

*death grunt* Keep fucking supporting metal!!! *gasp*

Great news. Let's see if I finally get hold of the album the next weekend!!!

Congrats to the guys!

To be fair, the recession is probably lending a helping hand.

Think about it...

A fair chunk of the teeny-boppers aren't buying music in these tough times, downloading it for free instead.  But fans of decent music, including Dream Theater fans, will never stop purchasing the tangible product.

Either way, it's a great triumph of music over mass-consumption.

just to keep the topic going.........

I have not heard the new album, other than the Queen covers, because Roadrunner Records JUST shipped my order Thursday.

So much for trying to be loyal.  Went to Best Buy over the weekend, and had to NOT purchase BC&SL.

Thanks for reviewing the new release here.  Have read good reviews from other sources.

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[b]*goodco* wrote: [/b]







Roadrunner Records JUST shipped my order Thursday.

So much for trying to be loyal.  Went to Best Buy over the weekend, and had to NOT purchase BC&SL.





[/QUOTE]
Sorry you had to go through that.  I hope they have a good explanation.

As for the record itself... hopefully it'll be worth the wait.

Dream Theater are great. I had the chance to see them once at the Royal Albert Hall. I didn't go though. I wish I did.... :(

As always with DT, it's going to take more than a few spins to grasp each track.  I'm getting too old to enjoy the 'cookie monster' vocals that rear their ugly head too often for my liking, as well as an overabundence of Petrucci's speed metal. 

'A Nightmare to Remember'....the middle five minutes should have been a song on its own (melody-wise).  The intro is terrific, can see this as the opening concert number (unless a 16 minute track is too long). 
'Rite of Passage'...it's OK. 
'Wither' ...withered and wilted.  I love the semi-ballads of the band.  Not this one. 
'Shattered Fortress'.....glad Mike is done with his 12 Steps offerings.  Including new snippets of the previous tracks of his saga is rather unique.  Not sure if it works for me or not. 
'Best of Times'.....maybe I think of Styx too much with the song title, and this could have been shortened. 
'Count'....as with all their long tracks, there are parts I like, but not over the entire 18 minutes. 

Sadly, I've enjoyed the cover version disk more.

I'm spoiled from 'Images', 'Scenes', 'Six Degrees' (minus 'The Great Debate'), and 'Octavarium'.  I even prefer most of 'Falling Into Infinity' to this release.  Those albums were more my style.

These are my first impressions.  I hated 'Systematic Chaos' at first and second listen, but other than 'Dark Eternal Night', grew to like it.

posted 7/14

just a bump due to an error in chronological listings here